Likely
by Quill and Saber
Summary: What if a miracle hadn't occured? AU. I am not Stephenie Meyers, though I try to mimic her style. Don't sue! DISCONTINUED DUE TO FACTUAL INACCURACY.
1. The More Likely Path

**Likely**

**Prologue: The More Likely Path**

Summary: What if a miracle hadn't occured? AU.

A/N: Any section completely in italics is taken directly from the book. I know there's quite a large section of copied text in this prologue, but bear with me through it, please. Think of this story as an "alternate ending."

* * *

_"My hand is burning!" I screamed, finally breaking through the last of the darkness, my eyes fluttering open. I couldn't see his face, something dark and warm was clouding my eyes. Why couldn't they see the fire and put it out?_

_His voice was frightened. "Bella?"_

_"The fire! Someone stop the fire!" I screamed as it burned me._

_"Carlisle! Her hand!"_

_"He bit her." Carlisle's voice was no longer calm, it was appalled._

_I heard Edward catch his breath in horror._

_"Edward, you have to do it." It was Alice's voice, close by my head. Cool fingers brushed at the wetness in my eyes._

_"No!" he bellowed._

_"Alice," I moaned._

_"There may be a chance," Carlisle said._

_"What?" Edward begged._

_"See if you can suck the venom back out. The wound is fairly clean." As Carlisle spoke, I could feel more pressure on my head, something poking and pulling at my scalp. The pain of it was lost in the pain of the fire._

_"Will that work?" Alice's voice was strained._

_"I don't know," Carlisle said. "But we have to hurry."_

_"Carlisle, I…" Edward hesitated. "I don't know if I can do that." There was agony in his beautiful voice again._

_"It's your decision, Edward, either way. I can't help you. I have to get this bleeding stopped here if you're going to be taking blood from her hand."_

_I writhed in the grip of the fiery torture, the movement making the pain in my leg flare sickeningly._

_"Edward!" I screamed. I realized my eyes were closed again. I opened them, desperate to find his face. And I found him. Finally I could see his perfect face, staring at me, twisted into a mask of indecision and pain._

_"Alice, get me something to brace her leg!" Carlisle was bent over me, working on my head. "Edward, you must do it now, or it will be too late."_

_"Edward's face was drawn. I watched his eyes as the doubt was suddenly replaced with a blazing determination. His jaw tightened. I felt his cool, strong fingers on my burning hand, locking it into place. Then his head was bent over it, and his cool lips pressed against my skin._

The pain intensified for a split second, like a knife was cutting through the fire. I closed my eyes and screamed. But just as suddenly as the pain cut through, it left in a split second.

"I can't," his voice was a mere whisper. "It's all throughout her system now. I couldn't." I could hear him sobbing then, painful sobs that hurt my ears and heart.

"Carlisle, what should we do?" Alice asked quickly.

"We can't stay in Phoenix." I felt strong arms pick me up; the jostling of my broken bones made me moan again. "We'll need to take her back to Forks."

"I'll get Emmett to rent a car," Alice said before she rushed out.

"Edward, go with Alice," Carlisle ordered. I could only guess he wasn't moving, because Carlisle repeated himself. "Go with Alice, now. It won't help if you just stand here."

I heard him shuffling out before Carlisle began speaking to me. "Bella, you need to try to be quiet while we move you into the truck. Otherwise we'll have to figure out how to muffle your screams." I only whimpered in response. "I know it hurts, Bella, trust me. You can be quiet though for a little while though, I know. We're going to drive up to Forks as quickly as we can. Now try to stay calm."

I couldn't respond that time, because the fire had now enveloped my chest and head. Whatever happened after that was a mystery.

* * *

_Revised 06 Aug 2006_

_Constructive Criticism is _always_ welcomed. I'm here to improve my writing, not my ego!_


	2. Pulseless

**Likely**

**Chapter One: Pulseless**

* * *

I opened my eyes to see a vaguely familiar ceiling. I had been placed on what appeared to be a fainting-couch type thing. I tried to look around me, but found out that my head was firmly kept in place by pillows. I could make out an Oriental rug on the floor and a vintage lamp in the corner and some nondescript boxes surrounding the door. I didn't try to sit up, knowing what an effort it would probably be. I felt so cold. Was there a window open or—

No. It wasn't the room that was cold. It was _me_.

I tried to calm down a minute, slow my breathing. Every quick breath hurt like nothing else I had experienced—except that pain in my hand.

Where I was bitten by a vampire.

Did I have the courage to? I wasn't sure. But I managed to take my uninjured hand and move it to the other wrist.

No pulse.

So…this was it. I wasn't human anymore. I wasn't even _alive_ anymore. What would Charlie and Renée think? Would they shove me away?

"Bella—"

I stiffened.

"It's me, Alice." I calmed down when she moved into my line of sight. "How—how are you feeling?"

"I don't know," I replied. "I mean…I'm dead now, aren't I?"

She pursed her lips at my bluntness, but I just had to ask outright. "Yes, you are. We couldn't stop the venom from spreading. I am sorry."

Mustering my courage again, I very carefully tried to sit up. It proved to be impossible on my own, so Alice came over to help me. "I guess you could say I deserved it."

Alice shook her head furiously. "Never say that. Never, _ever_ say that."

I changed the subject. "Where's Edward? Actually, where am I?"

"You're in my room. We came back to Forks as soon as we could; it was too dangerous to stay in Phoenix."

"What about Edward? I remember up until we left the studio—"

Alice got up and locked her door, and then turned to face me. Her expression was uncharacteristically serious. "Have you figured it out yet?" she said bluntly.

I, on the other hand, was confused. "What do you—?"

"Have you figured out how you're going to get Edward to stop hating himself?" she said more forcefully, though not angrily. Was she _begging_?

"Bella, you need to stop him. He hasn't come in to see you since, since… He is so angry at himself for being too late, not being around to protect you, and he is afraid that you will be angry at him too. Now the absolute worst thing that he had imagined could happen to you _has_ happened, and Edward can only blame himself."

"It's not his fault!" I hissed ferociously. "It was _my_ fault, mine alone! _I_ went to meet James like the idiot I am. I did everything Edward told me not to do; I didn't even tell you and Jasper what was going on. I defied his every request foolishly, and now he blames _himself _for the consequences of my actions? He—"

Alice held up a hand to stop me. "Hear me out before you say anything," she commanded. I reluctantly gave in with a nod. "I believe he thinks it's his fault because of the baseball game. No, not just the baseball game, he blames his own inability to stay away from you from the time he first met you, because if he had been strong enough to resist his attraction—_romantic_ attraction," she specified, "then you would have not had to suffer through all this."

Alice paused for a moment. "You screamed almost the entire time we drove, Bella. We had to rent a car and drive up to Forks, because we couldn't take you any other way in your condition, and we certainly couldn't stay in Phoenix. We actually rented two cars, one with Carlisle driving and you and me in the back and the other with Emmett driving and Edward and Jasper riding. But you screamed every time the car was jostled and Edward heard them the entire time, even from the other car. We…we even had to muffle your shrieks with a jacket when we stopped for gasoline. Every scream, especially the muffled ones, was like a knife to Edward's heart. When we finally got back to the house, you weren't screaming anymore because you couldn't. You just writhed in pain. And _that_ was even worse for him. Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper actually had to sedate him while Esme and I were with you. But what was probably worst was when you stopped writhing, stopped sweating, stopped _breathing_, and just lay still, cold and unmoving. We had actually let him in, that is to say he forced his way in, but when he saw you…Bella, I never want to see that expression on Edward's face again." Her haggard eyes met mine. "You've _got_ to help him to forgive himself for this, because the grief will kill him in the end."

I looked down to my folded hands. "Should I go speak to him now?"

Alice shook her head and stood up. "He's out in the woods so he doesn't have to hear us. We'll wait until he comes back, and then I'll bring him in here. _You_, on the other hand, shouldn't move from that couch. Your leg hasn't been put in a cast or splint yet, and it will hurt a lot if you try to stand on it." She waved and left the room.

* * *

Apparently immortality-brand patience is an acquired trait. I waited in Alice's room for hours, and still no sign of anyone. It was difficult especially because I couldn't move and my stomach was bothering me; I now knew what Edward meant by "hunger." I was hungry and knew it, but I certainly couldn't do anything about it with my leg the way it was.

So I spent my time sitting and listening to what was happening downstairs. Esme—at least, I think it was her—was talking quietly to Alice. I couldn't identify all the words, but I picked up "Edward" every couple of sentences, and I heard my name once or twice. Someone was tapping a pencil on a desk: Carlisle, probably. I couldn't tell where Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie were. Nothing interesting happened for at least an hour. Then I heard someone downstairs move. It wasn't coming from the direction of the pencil-tapping, and it didn't sound like Alice, so I figured it must be Esme. The footsteps came up the stairs, slowly approaching Alice's room. She paused slightly before opening the door slowly, watching my reaction. When I didn't throw anything at her or yell at her, she came over to the couch and sat next to me.

"Bella, I cannot tell you how sorry we all are," she said.

I shook my head. "It's all right, Esme. It was my fault, and no one else's."

"It wasn't your fault either," she insisted. "You did what you thought you had to do to save your mother. The fault lies with James, and _not_ with you or Edward."

"You're worried about him, aren't you?" I said quietly.

"I'm worried about the _both_ of you," she clarified. "Him because of the guilt he imagines he should have, and you because you've got to be quite hungry by now. Are you?" Her eyes met mine, asking for a truthful answer.

"Yes, a little," I admitted quietly.

"I can get something that will help," she said, hurrying downstairs. A mere minute later she came back with a glass of cloudy liquid. "It's salt water with some vitamins and minerals," she explained as she handed it to me. "It'll take the edge off your hunger for now, or at least until we can figure out another way, with your leg the way it is."

I looked dubiously at the glass. I had learned in Biology that humans can't drink very much salt water without suffering from dehydration and eventually insanity and death. But I wasn't human anymore. Maybe it would be all right. I took a deep breath, and then took a big gulp of the concoction. Actually, it wasn't bad. The water seemed to be missing something, though; my only guess was that my new sense of taste noticed the lack of protein in the solution. But it did make my stomach feel much better. I drank the whole glass as quickly as I could, looking gratefully at Esme after I finished, earning a small smile.

Esme looked very serious again. "Carlisle is going to talk to Charlie about what happened. We talked it over and decided it would be best if you didn't talk to your father until he had a chance to ask Carlisle all the questions he needed, and a chance to accept what will certainly sound like a cruel joke to him."

"He's going to be angry with me," I muttered.

"Carlisle will explain everything to Chief Swan. And if your father is half the man I think he is, he will learn to accept it," Esme said confidently.

"Where's Edward?" I asked again, hoping for a better answer than the one Alice provided.

Esme was apparently hoping I wouldn't ask that question. "We aren't quite sure. He hasn't been around the house for six hours, since…"

"Since I died," I finished for her.

"Yes," she agreed quietly. "He'll come back before long. He didn't take a car."

"How will he ever be able to forgive me?" I muttered to myself.

She patted my uninjured hand. "He already has. Now _you_ need to let him know that you've forgiven _him_." She got up and left me alone again to re-examine the pattern in the rug. I'd studied it so much that I bet if you'd given me a paint set (and some artistic talent wouldn't hurt) I could have painted it from memory. I was about ready to try my chances with my injured leg to alleviate the boredom when the downstairs door opened. I sat forward on the couch and closed my eyes to listen.

"She's upstairs waiting for you." Alice.

"I can't face her." Edward's voice sounded strangled.

"You need to." Esme.

"She should hate me," he said bitterly.

Alice groaned in frustration. "Edward, believe it or not, Bella has been blaming herself for your current mood upstairs for the past six hours. You can either let her stew in that or go to talk to her. You at least owe her that much."

He sighed in a way that made my heart ache. I wanted to run downstairs—despite the fact I'd probably trip and tumble most of the way down—to hug him and tell him everything was all right, I was all right, he was all right. But I couldn't move, safely anyways. I held my breath as the footsteps trudged up the stairs. It almost seemed as if he was spiting me because as each step grew closer the time between grew longer. It seemed as if years passed by the time I could see a shadow from underneath the door. There was a moment of indecision as the doorknob creaked with the pressure laid on it. I stared at the door handle with as intense concentration as I could muster. Finally, the doorknob creaked as it turned, the latch receding into the door as it opened.

* * *

_Revised: 06 Aug 2006_

_Hahaha, cliffie! And now my insatiable, vampiric desire for character death has been appeased. Every story I write has to have at least one death, deathbed, or broken heart. What can I say; I like to torment fictional characters!_

_Constructive Criticism is _always_ welcomed. I'm here to improve my writing, not my ego!_


	3. Apologies

**Likely**

**Chapter Two: Apologies**

_Due to some rather violent requests for the next chapter, I shall try to oblige as quickly as I can. I am _not_ a fast writer, but I'm a fairly careful one. So all of you may thank sporanoid for the relatively quick update._

_

* * *

_

First I saw his white hand, trembling slightly on the door handle. Then his tousled hair, more unruly than I'd ever seen it. Then his mud-covered shoes that were probably making enough tracks in the house for Esme to scream at him had anything been remotely normal in the Cullen household. I couldn't meet his eyes, though. He was staring diligently at the floor, examining the rug as if he'd never seen it before today, just like I had been for the last few hours. He stepped in just far enough so that he could close the door behind him.

"Edward?" I whispered, desperate to break the silence.

"I am so sorry." His voice was nearly unbelievably soft and hoarse-sounding, as if he had been yelling for hours. The tears he could not shed from his eyes expressed themselves in his tone.

"There is nothing to forgive, Edward," I replied.

He looked up from the rug to meet my eyes. They blazed black, though this time not from hunger. "Bella, it's my fault you're dead," he protested.

I shook my head. "It's not your fault, Edward. It's all mine, and don't you dare contradict me."

He did anyways. "How could it be your fault? I practically gave you to James, abusing your trust in me and breaking every promise I ever made to you! I am the only—"

"But _I_ was the one who walked into his trap even though I knew it was stupid and dangerous!" I hissed back at him. "I would be entirely dead if you hadn't showed up when you did."

He didn't respond immediately. Instead, his gaze softened into the most beautiful expression of pity as he took one step closer to me. "You really would choose this life over death?"

I shrugged. "Since I met you I've nearly died so many times, with only narrow escapes. At this point, I really don't have a choice. Why complain about my fate?"

He took another step towards me, this time curiously. "How can you be so calm about it?" he asked.

I wasn't quite sure if it was a rhetorical question or not, so I just shrugged in response. "I've done enough screaming and yelling lately."

"Do you know how you're going to tell your parents?" One more step.

"Carlisle is going to tell Chief Swan. They said it'd be best if I wasn't around during that. I don't yet know how to tell my mother."

"How do you think your father's going to take it?" Closer again. Two more steps and I'd be able to touch him.

"Esme's convinced that Carlisle will be able to convince him to accept it. There are worse things that I could be."

The corner of his mouth twitched into a wry smile; I smelled victory—almost literally, actually. "Such as what?"

"I could be a drug addict, an alcoholic, criminal, pregnant." I shrugged. The list went on and on, but those were the first that jumped out at me.

"Out-of-season hunter?" the wryness started to fade as he took half a step. Darn him.

"You were the one who pointed out the loophole for people who don't hunt with traditional weapons," I retorted. He couldn't think of a response to that, so he just stared at the carpet again.

"I should ask how you're feeling," he said quietly. "But I'm afraid of your answer."

"Then I won't answer," I promised.

An awkward silence followed. "Esme and Alice are trying to figure out how to deal with your leg," he nodded at the limb in question, taking a step forward. Just half a step closer and I could reach him.

"Have they thought of anything?"

"Not yet. The only thing about you that's been decided, to my knowledge, is you not telling Chief Swan." He dryly chuckled and shifted his weight forward, but no step. Drat.

"I haven't asked where Carlisle is yet."

"He's probably in his study, writing a speech to give your—" he gestured towards me. That made him close enough—I whipped my fingers out to touch his.

We froze there, fingertips to fingertips. I noticed he wasn't nearly as cold as he had been before; just pleasantly cool, as if he had been outside for a while on a cool day without gloves. I noticed for the first time that his fingers had calluses from piano playing; they startled me somewhat even though I knew he had to have them.

I could feel impending movement as his fingertips slightly shifted. "Don't leave me again, Edward," I whispered as ferociously as I could. "Don't you dare even think about it."

Indecision played across his face, but as he inadvertently stepped forward a tiny bit he was close enough for me to grab his hand, which I did. "I need to know you forgive me, Edward. Please, don't leave me."

I don't think I had ever begged anything from Edward before; I had asked things of him, certainly, but never begged. But I was begging now.

"Very well." He came to sit on the couch, as far away from me as he could.

_Am I that different?_ I thought to myself.

He suddenly looked up at my face, confused. Could he now read my thoughts? Could it be that been the one change I had dreaded had occurred?

"Why are you afraid?" he asked cautiously.

"What?"

"It's just that," he cleared his throat, "I still can't read your mind. But now, your emotions show through if they are strong. And you were afraid; I'm sure of it. Why?"

"It was nothing," I lied.

"What are you afraid of?" he persisted.

"It does not matter."

"Bella," he grasped my hand tightly, the touch sending a thrill through my arm. "I have never known you to be afraid for no reason. Are you afraid to tell me what it is that bothers you?"

"No," I avoided his eyes.

"Then tell me!" Fervor burned in his eyes. He would get an answer from me whether I wanted to give it to him or not.

"I was afraid that I had changed too much. Am I still the Bella who moved to Forks to help her mother to be happy? Am I still the Bella who was stupid enough to do the bidding of a murderer?" I squeezed my eyes shut and whispered, "Am I still the Bella who made you fall in love with her?"

I opened my eyes. And then I was enveloped in compassion and love as he put his arms around me. "You still are the Bella who moved to Forks, even though she didn't want to, to allow her mother to be happy. You still are the Bella who was brave enough to rescue someone she cared for from a murderer. But most certainly, you still are the Bella that I love, and that Bella you will always be."

"I love you, Edward!"

* * *

_Revised 06 Aug 2006-_

_I did dramatic revision in the first three chapters which made a huge improvement. This was done because I _finally_ got a beta reader, the illustrious Krystylized of fictionpress and the Sims 2 Exchange. She does a wonderful job, mostly due to the fact that she hates fanfiction on principle and looks for mistakes in order to prove that original fiction is far superior to fanfiction. Note to budding authors: to get a really good editor, look for someone who hates your genre who will grudgingly agree to look at it. "Grudgingly" is the key word. I spent an hour trying to convince Krystylized to read this, but it was worth it._

_Constructive criticism is_ always_ welcomed. I'm here to improve my writing, not my ego!_


	4. The Calm Before the Storm

**Likely**

**Chapter Three: The Calm Before the Storm**

_Look for updates every Saturday evening (Eastern time). If there isn't a chapter up, check my profile page and I'll give a reason for it--most likely. In fact, if you really like my stuff, I'd suggest checking my profile page for notes every week regardless of updates._

* * *

A day later I was still in Alice's room, though now I had some freedom of movement with the splint on my leg. Alice had sneaked back to my room the night previous to bring some of my clothes so I wasn't wearing the dirty stuff that I had at the house. I was still drinking that warm salt solution once a day, though Esme started adding some meat juices in it or something, to give it minimal protein; it was going to be my diet until my leg was healed. Alice, however, had taken advantage of my reduced range of movement and relative weakness and was holding me captive on the couch while she fought my tangled hair. 

"I don't see why you grew it so long," she commented, yanking a hairbrush through a knot. "Can I just cut it off?"

"No!" I yelled, grabbing my hair in both hands to keep it away from her. "I've been growing this out since I was ten, thank you very much!"

"Just a joke, Bella," she soothed as she took my hair back for a second onslaught. "But can I play with it a bit, please?" She'd been begging to do my hair ever since Edward and I had assured the family we were not angry with each other and that all was forgiven (even though we still hadn't been able to agree on who was at fault).

"Fine. But no scissors," I warned her.

"If you insist." She grabbed a box from by the door which was apparently filled with hair supplies and placed it in front of her while she worked. She first moved my head into a perfectly straight position. "Move for nothing less than the apocalypse," she ordered.

"All right, but I hate to tell you this, Alice: your walls are very boring, especially with the curtains closed."

"Carlisle said we needed to keep you in the dark, literally," her voice sounded tense. "Your eyes will hurt if the lighting gets very bright."

We had conscientiously tried to avoid the term _vampire_ or anything that might have to do with being one. But occasionally we'd have to say something. So far I'd learned bits and snippets about the change: my eyes were still brown but were darker than they had been before; Alice had admitted that it took a long time for the eyes to settle down. I apparently hadn't lost all my color yet either; I could tell that by comparing my skin to Alice's and Edward's. She said that too would take years to become as pale as hers. My leg was also healing faster than any normal leg would heal; I would have the splint off before May. I sighed when I thought of how long I'd have to stay in this room.

"Don't move!" Alice reminded me.

"I'm not," I protested.

"Good, then." She rummaged around in the box with her left hand as she held a section of my hair in her right.

"When is Carlisle going to talk to Charlie?"

"Today." Her voice was slightly muffled; I could only assume she had a pin in her mouth. "He's taking Jasper along too, just to be safe."

"Oh." I desperately sensed the need for subject change. "How are Rosalie and Emmett?"

"Emmett's doing fine, staying busy mostly by keeping Edward from relapsing into angst. Rosalie—well, she's feeling a little guilty."

"Guilty? For what?"

"If she'd not wasted valuable seconds back here before left for Phoenix, she thinks you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

Rosalie guilty for _me_ getting hurt? "Why? It's not like we were friendly—"

"Maybe you weren't; okay, maybe she downright hated you. But she would _never_ hope this would happen to anyone; I think she actually hoped you'd get spooked and leave Forks forever. You know, stay in Phoenix like you told Chief Swan you would."

"How did you know what I said?"

"Edward told me, but I saw it quite a long time ago—about a month before you came here, actually. I was pretty confused, since I didn't know that Chief Swan had any relatives, let alone a teenage daughter who would just so happen to snare my brother's heart and eventually leave town because of him. I didn't tell Edward at the time since I didn't want to send him spiraling into depression due to something that might not even happen."

"But I told him that I didn't mean it," I argued.

"_I_ didn't know you didn't mean it," she reminded me. "I just saw you yelling, Edward standing by, and poor Chief Swan confused and hurt. Believe me; I spent plenty of time even figuring out who _you_ were."

"So I was bad from the first time you saw me."

"Remember, these things aren't exact, and I've learned that; I never pass judgment on a person based solely on visions. Things change, after all, as do people. Once I actually saw you kissing Mike Newton at the spring dance."

I shuddered. "I hope Edward didn't hear about that one."

"He didn't. The time between vision and contradictory action—that would be you telling Mike to go to the spring dance with Jessica—was about three minutes. And lucky for Edward, you're too altruistic to accept someone's offer if a friend of yours is interested."

"If I was altruistic enough to stand aside if anyone was interested, I wouldn't have had Edward," I countered.

"Edward is a special case," she said simply.

"I know."

We sat in silence while she played with my hair, the only noise being an occasional expression of pain from me when Alice tugged too hard (I'm fairly tender headed) or her periodic rummaging in the box.

"You're done!" she finally said. She rummaged around in the box for a hand mirror, which she passed to me, and another which she held behind my head so I could see the back.

I gasped. Alice was a magician with hair. Instead of looking wild, my curls were controlled with pins and a complex web of thin braids and dark blue ribbons. But I was really surprised at my face. I hadn't looked in a mirror since I was bitten, so I wasn't quite ready for the shock. The softness around my face was mostly gone; my cheeks were not quite gaunt, but almost there. The blush that was my constant companion was now absent, making me look unhealthier than I normally did. I plain refused to look into my eyes.

"Well," she said with a smile, "what do you think? I couldn't really put your hair up because it's so thick and long—"

"It's beautiful," I breathed. "Thank you so much!"

I could see her smug smile behind me in the mirror. "So…if, say, you had your hair like that for something like prom—"

"_Prom!_" I froze in terror. How could she think I'd go to _prom_ when I'd refused to go to a dance that required a lot less coordination? A Spring Fling dance wasn't really a dance; you maybe danced once or twice, none of it in the "structured" style, and talked the rest of the time. But _prom_… prom was most definitely a dance, one of the structured ones with waltzes and polkas and—

"Bella, I'm going to teach you how to dance once that splint comes off," she said seriously, almost threateningly, "and nothing you can say will change that."

"Can I flee in terror?" I asked hopefully.

She smirked. "At this point you are still more likely to trip rather than run. Balance is a practiced trait, trust me. Believe it or not, I used to be only a little bit more dexterous than you."

"I can see the self-help video now: 'Learning to Balance.' You could be the success story on the commercials," I joked.

"Oh, no. _You_ will, by the time I'm done with you," her slightly menacing tone crept back in.

"Are you scaring her again, Alice?" Edward's muffled voice suddenly came from the other side of the door where he was most likely leaning on the wall or the frame.

"No," Alice said defensively. "We're just discussing dance lessons."

"In other words, she's scaring me," I put in before Alice could stop me. She didn't silence me, but she did lightly slap my shoulder.

"She's scaring me too, Bella. The thought of you trying to dance is fairly terrifying; I don't know what sort of damage to self, people, or objects you'd be able to wreak. May I come in?" his hand brushed the metal doorknob.

"No!" Alice exclaimed, getting up to stand between me and the door. "I'm doing Bella's hair, and you can't see it yet."

"Please?" he was using his begging tone, the one that would make me give in to whatever demands he could possibly come up with.

Alice, however, was immune. "No. You can't come in."

"Please let him in," I pleaded.

"See, Alice, it's two against one!" Edward said triumphantly.

"Ah, but see, Edward, I am the only one who has a key." She pulled said key out of her pocket, brandishing it even though Edward couldn't see it. Apparently the Cullen house was old enough and well enough preserved that the room doors were still the old-fashioned kind that locked with keys. "And I'm not giving it up to either of you. Oh, Edward, and don't try those lock picks you once had, they're in one of my boxes now."

Edward muttered something under his breath that, muffled by the door, I didn't understand, though I got the general idea behind it.

"Edward!" Esme called from downstairs. "Language, if you please!"

Alice and I smirked at each other as we tried to contain our giggles, finally breaking into laugher. There are some joys that only good girlfriends can share.

* * *

_Posted 19 Aug 2006_

_Constructive criticism is _always_ welcome. I'm here to improve my writing, not my ego!_


	5. Father

**Likely**

**Chapter Four: Father**

_Pardon me for the longer chapter. I aim for between 1 500 and 2 000 words per chapter, but this one is slightly over. I just couldn't cut it off short._

* * *

Our laughter almost drowned out the noise of the house phone ringing. We stopped as soon as it started, but halfway through the first ring Edward had picked up the phone from down the stairs.

"Hello? How did it go?" There was a long pause; neither Alice nor I breathed. "Of course I will. When do you want us over?" The pause was shorter this time. "All right then, I will tell her. I'll call right before. Goodbye." I heard the phone being replaced on the base. Mere seconds later, Edward was back outside Alice's door. "That was Carlisle. He just finished talking to Chief Swan in the office. Jasper only had to help a little bit, but he now believes. Carlisle thinks it would be a good idea if we were to go meet them at the hospital, so you could see your father, Bella. He also asked me to tell you that, if you don't want to talk to your father, we will not force you."

Alice's eyes closed slightly. "I think you should go, Bella. He understands." Her eyes then snapped open. "All right, Edward, we'll leave as soon as Bella's ready."

"I'll wait downstairs," he called as he walked down said stairs a little more loudly than necessary to prove his action.

Alice slapped my hand from my hair. "Don't ruin it. We don't have enough time to undo all the braids and it will look really awful if you do."

I sighed. Imagine me with princess hair wearing my old shirt and jeans…

Oh, no.

"Alice? Should I wear my own clothes?" I asked, hoping she would know what I was afraid of.

She shook her head firmly. "I was just going to suggest that you didn't. Your father may be able to understand hunting out-of-season transgressions because we have to. But I have the distinct impression that if we add breaking and entering to our list of crimes it may be a little too much for Chief Swan to handle. Reason one; it is, after all, a crime on the police chief's house and we do not want to insult him by proving his own home is not well enough guarded. Reason two; if there are any burglaries in the area, we would prefer to not be suspects as the police chief would know what we were capable of. Reason three; a certain paramour of yours might find it a bit more difficult to sneak in at night if a certain father of yours were to start becoming paranoid about his daughter's windows. No, you can borrow something from me."

The next twenty minutes were spent sifting through Alice's wardrobe. True, we were about the same size, but half of her things I wouldn't be caught dead in and most of the rest Alice didn't think would go with my hair, which she said would be preserved at all costs. She finally found a dark blue dress and a neutral sweater I could wear with it. It still looked very plain with my hair, but I was very anxious to talk to Charlie and really couldn't care.

We walked downstairs extremely slowly for the sake of my leg. Edward was waiting at the bottom to hold my hand and, in doing so, support most of my weight.

"Do you like the hair?" I whispered.

"Your hair is pretty. _You _are beautiful." He smiled at me, his white teeth nearly blinding me.

Alice figured out the blinding part. "Here," she said, slipping sunglasses over my eyes. "You'll need them. Your eyes will be extremely sensitive to light."

I found out that I really did need the sunglasses. Even with the cloud cover and the sunglasses, the light was very bright. It was a little bit like the time I had my eyes dilated and walked outside without sunglasses in Phoenix, which is in a constant state of sunshine. In other words, it was very uncomfortable. Fortunately, the Volvo was much darker. Alice put me in back with her while Edward drove. The entire ride was silent, the anticipation thick in the air.

We finally made it to the hospital as Edward smoothly pulled into a parking spot quite close to the door. "You go in, Edward," Alice said. "I need to talk to Bella." He looked at her suspiciously, but apparently decided that whatever she wanted to tell me was all right, and he left.

"What do you want—" I began.

"You haven't come into contact with humans yet." Her eyes were very, very serious. "It's going to be pretty bad for you. I just want you to know that you're in for something really difficult that most vampires with centuries of undeath can't handle without horrible consequences. So this is your last chance. Do you think you'll be able to control yourself?"

I thought about what she said. I knew, just knew, that human blood would make me very strong and I would not be hungry anymore. But I had to argue with that horrible monster inside of me. The small part that was still Bella, the littlest human part that survived the three days piped up. Humans can't help what they are, just like I can't. This would be my father whom I would see, and I, his own flesh and blood, could not turn against him. I was not really hungry, after all; that concoction gave me the nutrients I'd need. There was no need to feed on humans. Absolutely none at all.

I took a deep breath. "I'm ready."

Alice smiled wanly. "All right. In we go, and hold your breath. It'll make it a lot easier; trust me."

I did just as she said and held my breath as we walked towards the front door. I expected to feel my lungs straining due to lack of oxygen, but I felt nothing. I felt as refreshed as I would have had I been breathing normally. We walked by the receptionist as quickly as we (meaning my injured leg) could, Alice tossing a quick, "We're going to see my father," to the bewildered lady.

She led me down the hallway and up a flight of stairs to a door marked in plain black letters: CULLEN. Through the clouded glass in the door I could see there were people moving inside, one of them with Carlisle's shape, another with Jasper's, another with Edward's, and lastly, my father. Alice looked at me and grabbed my hand sympathetically. "Last chance to turn away if you want," she muttered.

I shook my head, not speaking so I wouldn't have to breathe.

"All right, then," she put her hand on the handle and turned it with agonizing slowness.

Once the door was open, the inhabitants froze: Carlisle at his desk, Edward mid-pace, Jasper leaning against the wall, and my father, openmouthed, halfway standing in front of the chair. Alice and I had also frozen in the hallway, wondering what to do.

Carlisle recovered first. "Alice, Bella, please come in," he gestured to the room around him. We obeyed slowly as the rest of the room came to life. I went to stand by Edward, placing my hand on his shoulder to help my balance. He, in turn, placed a hand on my waist—not tightly enough to alarm Charlie, of course. Alice went to stand by Jasper, folding her arms over her chest.

"I've explained everything to him," Carlisle told me.

Charlie shook his head. "I…I never thought…it had to be a joke. But, Bella, you're so pale, and so thin…it isn't a joke, is it?"

"I'm afraid it is not, Mr. Swan," Carlisle said gravely.

"How are you feeling, Bella?" Charlie asked me suddenly.

I looked to Alice for help on this. Luckily, she rescued me. "She can't talk, sir. She's holding her breath so she won't…smell any human blood." Charlie shuddered. "Don't worry; it won't hurt her to not breathe."

Jasper reached over to Carlisle's desk and grabbed a clipboard and a pencil, passing them to me. I gave him a grateful nod. On the clipboard, I wrote: _I'm fine, Dad; don't worry._

I passed the clipboard to Charlie, who read the answer quickly. Passing it back, he asked, "Do you know how soon you'll be able to come home?"

Edward and Alice exchanged glances. I wrote: _I'm not sure yet. Carlisle probably knows better than I._

He read the answer quickly. "Carlisle, when can Isabella come home?" he asked abruptly, knowing the doctor wouldn't answer unless he was the one being asked.

Carlisle shrugged. "I'm not sure either. Right now it would probably be best to…distance her from the normal population. She probably shouldn't go to school for the rest of the school year. But going home anytime soon, I fear, might not be quite wise."

I grabbed the clipboard. _They don't know how much control I have, and it is better not to risk anything soon._

"But what'll you do?"

_I'll home school over the Internet. A lot of kids who miss a lot of school for injuries and such drop out of normal school to study over the Internet, and I know how to teach myself._

Charlie sighed. I wanted to go over and hug him, tell him everything would be all right and he didn't have to worry about his only daughter; she could take care of herself. Instead, I wrote: _Don't worry about me, Dad, everything will be fine._

As he read, I could have sworn I saw something glitter at the corner of his eye. "But will it?" he muttered quietly enough that I don't think I was meant to hear.

He stood up rather reluctantly, turning to Carlisle. "I have to go now, sorry. But you will take care of my Bella?"

"Of course," Carlisle responded gravely. "We all will."

Charlie walked over to me and awkwardly hugged me. I hugged him back, not knowing what else to do, making sure to not breathe like I was now feeling the urge to. He then looked at the rest of the room and left, closing the door behind him.

Carlisle looked straight at me. "Bella, I want you to breathe now. There's a remnant of his scent in this room. You need to start getting used to the smell or else you won't be able to handle it later."

So I breathed. Fresh air, the smell of books and paper, some chemical-like smells, and something slightly familiar that I guessed had to be my father's smell. I looked around to see everyone staring at me, their eyes asking how it was. I simply shrugged in response.

"You smell it?" Edward asked tentatively.

"Of course I do," I answered.

"And?" this question seemed to lead somewhere, but I could not fathom the destination.

"I smelled it. Just that. Nothing weird happened."

Alice looked at me sharply from her place by the bookshelf. "I think he means: did you feel hungrier?"

"No," I answered right off the bat, then paused. "No," I said slowly, "I didn't react that way at all. And I didn't get any hungrier when I was in close proximity to him either."

Carlisle, Alice, Jasper, and Edward looked at each other.

"I suppose we should have expected this," Jasper finally said.

"What with her sensitivity and all," Alice answered.

I was confused. "What do you mean?"

Edward finally turned to me. "Remember what I told you about the strongest human traits intensifying after transitioning?"

"Of course."

"One of your strongest traits—indeed, the one that's responsible for your current condition—is that part of you that feels responsible for others, the altruistic side of you, if you will. When this intensified, it must have made you not desire human blood so much, as you do not wish to cause anyone harm. Normally, even without scent, even if it is a close relative, a new vampire would not be able to resist a helpless human." Edward shook his head. "Of all gifts, you were possibly dealt the best one."

I thought a moment. It seemed such a small thing, yet it was so fortunate. I would have less trouble than any vampire adjusting to life with humans. I wouldn't have to face temptation like Edward or Emmett did and like Jasper still does. I wouldn't have to avoid people until I developed control; I apparently had that control already.

The possibilities were endless.

* * *

_Posted 29 Aug 2006_

_Constructive criticism is_ always_ welcome. I'm here to improve my writing, not my ego!_


	6. Control

**Likely**

**Chapter Four: Control**

_I know there's not a lot of BxE in this yet, but I'm experimenting with romantic scenes in my head; sixteen-year-old girls who have never been kissed make horrible romance writers. Right now I'm just having fun with the Alice and Bella friendship. I'd be surprised if no one's thought of writing slash for those two. Not that I think that's what should be done, but I think it's a pretty good possibility with plenty of material provided. Okay, end author rant and onto story:_

* * *

"We need to find out how we can find the extent of Bella's gift," Edward said conversationally to Alice and me in the car.

"How do you plan on doing that?" I asked.

"Well, it would be best to stick with the home school plan for the rest of the year. Then we can slowly expose her to human contact in a more controlled setting. In the meantime, we can say Bella's horribly ill. Mononucleosis should do the trick, don't you think? Long illness would explain the paleness and the thinness."

I wrinkled my nose. "Kissing disease? Big problem with that, Alice; Edward isn't sick."

Alice shrugged. "You may have gotten it while you were 'visiting your mother' in Phoenix sharing a soda with an old friend, perhaps. Tragically, she gets sick a few days after you leave, but it's too late; you have been stricken with illness. Oh, woe is you!" She put the back of her hand to her forehead in a melodramatic gesture as I laughed and Edward groaned. "As for Edward, you probably would have found out you were sick before you had a chance to get near him. And if that excuse falls through he's always had a very strong immune system. Haven't you, Edward?"

"Oh, yes," his every word dripped sarcasm. "I'm sure it comes from all that ascorbic acid I consume every day. I absolutely _love_ sauerkraut and orange juice."

"If you weren't driving I'd hit you," Alice remarked.

"Then thank goodness I'm driving," he was still in sarcasm mode.

"Not that this argument isn't lovely, but what do you mean by 'controlled setting'?" I asked.

"I think Alice means that we would start to bring you literally closer to civilization. Every day we'd go a little closer to town, a little closer to temptation. From there we'd figure out how much you can handle giftwise. And then we'd build your control." He looked back in the rearview mirror. "Right, Alice?"

She shrugged. "Pretty much. We'd have to have at least two people go with her, though, in case it became too much for her to handle." She smiled at me apologetically. "It's much better to be safe since you're still quite new; you're on a very long-lasting vampire venom high, so to speak, that makes you stronger than someone older. It'll wear off in about three months."

"So plenty before the time I start my senior year," I clarified.

"_If_ you start senior year at Forks High," Alice clarified in turn. "We're not going to form any conjectures yet and, coming from me, you can be assured I mean it."

"Must you always remind me?" I asked accusatorily.

"Yes." Edward's comment was sharp, cutting through the air in the car like a knife. None of us dared to break the silence as we continued down the road towards the Cullen house. Even though I didn't have Jasper's gift I could feel anger and displeasure emanating from Edward. Something in what I said bothered him and I didn't know what, and that was a new sensation to me; I could usually figure out what was making Edward react the way he did.

Once we got out of the car Alice beat Edward to my door to help me out, then spirited me back to my prison—her room—before I could talk to Edward. Once the door was safely locked, she turned back to me. "You're wondering why he's upset." It was a statement, not a question.

"Well, yes. I don't know what—"

"I think it's how lightly you're treating the subject of transformation," she said as she sat down on one of her "book boxes," as she called those that held her not-so-small library. "He thinks you should be bemoaning your lost mortality instead of trying to look on the bright side. In his mind, there is no bright side of the darkness."

"Then he's being an idiot," I declared.

Alice nodded in agreement. "Even after a hundred years, boys are still idiots, loveable though they may be. He's always been a pessimist. And I hope you heard that too, Edward," she raised her voice slightly to make sure he could hear. He didn't respond.

"I was really serious about the extent of your control. Every gift is very limited; you know that even my gift is notoriously unreliable except with the weather and Edward has his limits too. I think that you probably had such an easy time with your father because he simply is your father. You might have some trouble with your old friends, though, but you'd probably be able to resist."

"Kind of like the farmer in Babe couldn't kill the pig because he ended up liking it?" I hated having to relate this to food but it really was the only way.

"I suppose," she responded. "I guess you could also say that humans don't jump at a cow every time they see one when they're a bit hungry, which is what I think your gift will end up being like. That is to say, that is what I _hope_ your gift will end up like."

"But there is no guarantee," I said with a sigh.

"None at all," she agreed, "which is why we have to be very careful what human contact you get."

I nodded. She really did have a point. But I still wasn't quite sure what this unquenchable thirst for human _was_. I hadn't really met a human I wasn't related to except the receptionist, who I wasn't sure counted or not. Maybe it would be difficult; maybe it would be impossible. I really, _really_ hoped it wasn't the latter.

"Edward'll come to apologize soon. He wasn't really angry with you, just more shocked and angry at himself."

"He's _still_ convinced he's at fault?" _I_ was starting to get angry.

"You honestly couldn't think he'd forget that easily. He's very difficult to persuade, and I should know since I've lived with him since before nineteen thirty." Alice's newfound pessimism was getting on my nerves. Well, I'm not quite sure it's exactly pessimism; it's her lack of the optimism that once characterized her so completely. Could my change have affected that side of her so deeply? I decided it was best not to think about that.

There was a quiet knock on the door, more like a tap. "That'll be him," Alice said unnecessarily. I knew it was him; I wasn't sure how I knew, but I did. In a second she was over by the door, unlocking it with the key she kept on a cord around her wrist, and disappearing down the hall but not without sending a meaningful glance at Edward, who stood directly outside, and a relatively gentle shove that moved him inside the door.

We were alone in the room once more.

He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry I was upset earlier."

I shook my head vehemently. "I was asking for it, Edward. You can't feel guilty at every last tiny little thing that may or may not offend me."

"I'm still responsible!" he insisted. Pacing around the room he continued, "You shouldn't have to deal with this at all! I ruined your chances at a normal life by not taking care of you like I should. You very nearly died, Bella—"

"Edward, stop!" I tried to interrupt.

"—all because I was nearly too late. What if you had died, Bella? What if none of it worked out? What if I had really tried to suck out the venom and found out too late you had too little uncontaminated blood? What if I couldn't stop myself? What if—"

"Edward, stop it!" I said a little louder.

But he still continued. "What if this gift hadn't been yours and you ended up killing your own father and you'd live with all the guilt for eternity? What if you had even been broken down by the receptionist? Would Alice have been able to stop you? Would—"

"Edward!" I did the only thing I could think of to shut him up. I stood up, grabbed his shoulder, and kissed him as hard as I could.

When we pulled apart, he was looking dazed and confused. "That," I said, not letting go of his shoulders, "was to shut you up and get your attention. You weren't going to quit jabbering on about things that never happened otherwise."

All of a sudden, the dazed look broke like clouds after rain to reveal him smiling. "You know, I think I like your method of shutting me up. Maybe I should ramble more often."

I hugged him and laughed. "You can be so silly sometimes!"

* * *

_Uploaded 2 Sep 2006-_

_I have a new update policy. I really hate to have to do this, but I really do need people's comments on my work. Therefore, chapters will be uploaded after one week OR after I have three (3) reviews, whichever comes_ later._ I review almost every chapter I read, only skipping if a) I have absolutely no time or b) I read several chapters and comment on the group as a whole or c) it's not a chapter or poem, so I think that some of you could take it into consideration to review for others. To give you an idea of perspective, I had 106 views for the last chapter and ONE review. I don't expect all 106, because that would be insane and I know people reread chapters. But asking for one out of every thirty-five readers to review I don't think is overboard._

_Constructive criticism is _always _welcome. I'm here to improve my writing; not my ego!_


	7. Volturi and Dratted Cell Phones

**Likely**

**Chapter Six: Volturi and Dratted Cell Phones**

_This is a bit shorter than my normal chapters. My excuse is Mu Alpha Theta and Brain Bowl tryouts this week, as well as Yoga club starting up again. I probably made Brain Bowl (according to some inside info) but I'm not going to say for sure until the list is officially posted._

_**This chapter is where the New Moon spoilers start**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend reading it soon. I finished it in three hours and thirty-three minutes (yes, that's how long it took. I was surprised too when I did the math) so it's a relatively quick read. But you shouldn't read this until you've read that book. If you _have_ read it, then you can continue._

_To answer a question/comment by a reader: I do think that vampires would be able to heal if injured. After all; something that has to be torn to pieces and then burned for it to die definitely must be resilient. If they weren't able to heal, all you'd need is to give a vampire a paper cut and they'd die._

* * *

"How is it?" I asked anxiously.

Carlisle was examining my leg. According to what he'd told me before, my leg should be healed enough by now to take off the splint. Yes, it was already early May.

He stood up and smiled at me. "It looks like it'll be off in a week, Bella. I know you're anxious to get the splint off so you can go home."

Charlie'd been around a couple times since the time in the hospital. The first time, we met outside (to allow the scent to dissipate in the air) and the next time in the covered porch. Every time he had something new to tell me about how everyday life was progressing for him and everyone else. Charlie said I'd gotten phone calls from Jessica and Angela, asking me how I was. He had, of course, passed on Alice's official explanation about me getting very sick and, after missing a lot of school, deciding to home school myself; I was also still potentially contagious (you could never tell with these new strains of mononucleosis) so no visitors, please. According to Edward and Alice, my story was now approaching common knowledge and leaving the gossip area of small-town talk, a not-so-small feat in this area. We'd finally decided that once I could walk without help from the splint I would be able to go back home.

"Bella?"

"Oh. Sorry; I drifted off."

Carlisle sighed. "I said that Alice wanted to talk to you once she got home from school, and she's in the driveway now. I suggest you go upstairs now so she doesn't drag you up the steps. The last thing we need is for you to have another injury, however unlikely another injury is."

I didn't need to be told twice. I went upstairs to Alice's room and barely got inside the door when Alice came rushing in, followed by the most unlikely person I could imagine.

"Hello, Rosalie," I said awkwardly.

She stared at me a second, then flashed a small smile in my direction before sitting on the floor. I sat on a book box while Alice got down beside Rosalie.

"Carlisle said you wanted to talk to me?" I prompted uneasily.

Alice nodded. "Yes. We would have talked to you before school, but we just worked out the details during lunch. Right, Rose?" Rosalie nodded.

I didn't like the sound of the word _details_. Details always mean something complicated and trip-inducing. The painful kind of trip, not the traveling kind.

"As soon as that splint comes off, we're going on a girl's night out!" Alice declared triumphantly.

"Huh?"

"We're taking you hunting," Rosalie explained. "Goodness knows how much you need it; that odd concoction you've been drinking smells awful and probably tastes worse. Plus, you need to be instructed on…well, I guess the best word is _feminine_ hunting techniques."

"Huh?"

"When the guys hunt—which is what they're doing this weekend, by the way—they generally use a system not unlike lions or wolves—a herding technique. It works well for them because they have quite a bit of power and raw strength as well as speed. However, we smaller females," Alice gestured to Rosalie and me. Rosalie snorted; she must have been at least six feet tall, "don't have the power they do. We _can_ do it that way, but it doesn't work quite so well as my patented tiny-person _modus operandi_, the ambush!"

"Huh?" It was my favorite word of late. "You've patented the ambush?"

"It was a _joke_, Bella. Of course I don't have a patent. The Volturi wouldn't like it," Alice looked at Rosalie, who nodded.

"Who are-"

That's when the first cell phone interruption hit. Alice picked up said ringing cell phone. "Yes?" The answering speech was quick and obviously touchy because Alice winced. "Yes, I know. Of course. Rose and Emmett are leaving for Africa in a month anyways." Rosalie nodded in confirmation. "I swear there won't be any problems. Of course I'll talk to Carlisle. Yes, I'll do it right away. Goodbye." She hung up and left the room, dragging Rosalie with her.

"Sorry, but it's kind of urgent," she said over her shoulder. "We'll be back soon!"

And thus I was left there, all alone, with a big question mark hanging over my head—figuratively, of course. Who were these Volturi, anyways? Maybe I could ask Carlisle or Edward later.

I opened one of the book boxes beside me and picked out one of them at random. It turned out to be a Shakespeare anthology bound in an old-fashioned red cardboard-and-fabric cover emblazoned with gold paint. Just as I was getting into Romeo and Juliet, Rosalie came in. Needless to say, I was shocked again.

"Uh…"

"There's no need to be nervous," she said irritably. "I'm not mad at you or anything."

"Wait…you're not?"

"Of course not!" she said, exasperated. "Why would I be mad at you?"

"You seemed to be before…"

"Before you got bitten?" she finished for me. I nodded. "Listen, I'm not mad at you. I was just jealous for a while. Okay, I still am in some ways, but really, I don't hate you."

Okay. This was rather odd—again. "So…truce?" I suggested tentatively.

"More like a permanent cease-fire, but the term truce works almost as well." Her smile was hesitant.

"So…" I drifted off. "What are these Vo—"

Second phone ring. Rosalie picked it up quickly. "Emmett? Okay, I'll tell Esme. One second," the last comment was to me as she stood up and left the room. _Drat cell phones._ _What would we do without them?_ I asked myself bitterly. _Get questions answered, that's what we'd do_._ We wouldn't have to wait until someone else could answer our questions._

Bitterness would get me nowhere. I closed my eyes and listened around the house. Esme was downstairs (her walk was different than any of the others) and Alice and Rosalie were talking on their respective evil cell phones. Carlisle was nowhere to be heard along with the guys. He must have left with Edward, Emmett, and Jasper on their camping/hunting/whatever excuse they could come up with trip while Alice and Rosalie were busy scaring me with Evil Plans and whatnot.

It was times like this when technology really makes you mad.

* * *

_It's the same review policy as last time. If I three reviews you'll get a new chapter in about a week. Note the "about;" there are no more guarentees as far as post duration. Weekends are most likely._

_Constructive criticism is _always_ welcomed. I'm here to improve my writing, not my ego!_


	8. Precognicience Is Annoying

**Likely**

**Chapter Seven: Precognicience Is Annoying**

_Okay, this next chapter was started right after the last was posted in an effort to get it done. We'll see how this new system works. I'm using it as an escape from Puritan and Quaker _love letters_. Shoot me now, please, I'm begging you!_

_Okay, it didn't work. Le sigh. Excuses are located at the bottom of the page._

_To respond to the mysterious Reed:_

_Thank you SO much for your constructive criticism! I haven't been able to get any of the good stuff from anyone but my sister. I really thought about what would happen when her leg broke (if it would heal or not) and what I came up with was the version that came into the story; I arrived at that conclusion by reading the passage where Alice explains to Bella what happens as the venom spreads (Twilight); since she said the venom heals as well as changes, I decided that the venom would speed up the healing process initially, and then it would heal at a natural pace as the venom high wears off. I only use a thesaurus when I get fed up with using the same word over and over which turns out to be a more common scenario than I'd like. And if you ever get a chance to ask the great Stephenie Meyers your question, also ask her this: if Bella is immune to vampire powers, why can Alice see her future and Jasper affect her emotions?_

* * *

I waited for what seemed like hours. I managed to read _Romeo and Juliet_, _Hamlet_, and _King Lear_ before either girl was free and by that time it was after dark. They—we, I reminded myself—didn't sleep, but they did become less active during the night. Apparently it is of no matter whether you're living or dead; you need to rest once in a while. In Alice's case, she rarely talked and just picked out a book to reread until morning. But this time I wasn't going to let her even get to her books without answers. And since I was sitting on her library, I had a pretty good chance of doing just that. 

Alice walked in the door, sighing as she flipped her cell phone closed and flopped on the couch. "That was not fun."

"What?"

"Tanya. If she has a talent it's talking a million words per minute. Basically she was hysterical with worry and had to get confirmation."

"Huh?"

"It was about you, actually. She heard about you somehow and wanted to know if it was true. And then she wanted to know about how we were going to deal with such a large group. Tanya thinks any group over four is too large, and we have twice that now. So I told her that Rosalie and Emmett are disappearing for Africa as soon as they graduate, which is true, by the way, and then she had something she wanted me to pass onto Carlisle. And I think that's it." She sighed again and stared at the ceiling.

Time for me to pounce in my non-pouncy manner. "Uh…Alice?"

She looked over at me. "Yes?"

"Who are the Volturi? You guys use that term and I have no idea what it means."

Alice looked a bit confused for a second. "We haven't told you yet?"

"No."

"Oh. Well then, the Volturi are the oldest three vampires known: Aro, Marcus, and Caius. They're living proof that powers grow stronger with age and limitations change."

"How old is oldest?" I asked uneasily.

Alice shrugged. "About three thousand years at least; they aren't sure who is _the_ oldest. According to Carlisle they have occasional arguments as to who is can claim the title of oldest, but they haven't escalated into anything violent since William of Normandy conquered England." I shuddered. My sole experience with vampire violence escalated into something very, very nasty—namely, my death.

"And what do you mean by limitations changing?" I asked, not wanting to think about the vampire conflicts any more.

"Well, take Aro and Edward." She rolled her eyes to the door. "Yes, Edward, I know you're there. The door's unlocked so you can now listen like a decent being _without_ resorting to eavesdropping."

The door opened. "I was just passing by," he protested lightly as he came to sit on one of the other library boxes. I leaned my head on his shoulder, half-closing my eyes. "Now, what were you telling Bella, Alice?"

"She asked about the Volturi since she'd heard the term and didn't know what it meant. I was going to tell her about the limit change."

"Ah. Carry on then. You give that lecture best."

Alice glared at Edward for a split second then looked back at me. "Right, then. Aro and Edward have very similar powers once said powers are boiled down; they both read minds. Only Aro can hear things that people thought earlier, rather than at that particular moment, which is Edward's limit. However, he now has to _touch_ people to know their thoughts."

"It's a cruel evolutionary joke, mimicking how regular people change over time," Edward cut in icily.

I glared at him as well as I could from his shoulder. For future reference, it is very difficult to glare at someone who is directly above you.

"Consider it a conciliatory gesture on evolution's part, then," Alice tried to counter. "Not every little thing is out to make you miserable."

"Just most things."

"That's it. You're banned from my room until further notice. Out." Edward showed no signs of moving, so Alice sighed and continued.

"But they're always interested in new vampires." Suddenly her expression changed as her brows knit together ever so slightly. "And they'll be particularly interested in you. Yes, _very_ interested." She stood abruptly and left the room, the tension seeming to roll off her as she left.

I sat up to look at Edward's shocked face. "Edward?"

He didn't respond.

"Edward? Is everything all right?"

He shook his head as if to clear it, his eyes darkening to black instantly. "Excuse me for a moment," he said shortly as he stood and strode after Alice without another word of explanation.

A child would have screamed at him to come back and explain himself. An immature person would have thrown a tantrum. I was above that.

I dropped backwards on the pile of boxes and groaned instead.

* * *

_Posted 28 November 2006_

_Okay, this took a lot longer than I had expected for several reasons. Firstly, I got sick for about a week. Then when I came back I couldn't remember where I saved this file. Then I had to rewrite it all several times because I painted this beautiful figurative floor and forgot to leave the area in front of the door clear. To make up for this oversight, I promise the next chapter something will _happen._ No more just plain talking._

_This chapter is a lame pre-birthday present for my friend Chanson. Happy b-day in advance! And yes, I did get you a real present to make up for the horror of this chapter._


	9. Author's Note

**An Ending Author's Note and Explanation**

It has come to my attention that a lot of people seem upset at the factual inaccuracies in this story. Before you decide to review solely to tell me all about them, please first look at the date this was published and the date when it was last updated. You will notice that New Moon (release date 6 Sept 2006) wasn't even released when the story started, and the last chapter was posted well before Eclipse came out. At the time this was written, a lot of the facts that you see as "wrong" were simply unexplained. You will also note I put a note in the story summary about the inaccuracy. I really don't mean to be testy, but please, people. I _stopped_ writing this story because the new books presented information directly counter to my speculations that, at the time, I could not have foreseen as wrong.

Thank you for your time.


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